SPRING 2024 | ISSUE 30
Big news! $3.2M gifted to the Western Bay of Plenty. Thanks to the generosity of more than 450 donor funds, Acorn has gifted nearly $20M since 2013 to hundreds of community organisations and award winners. This year we have distributed a total of $3.2M to the Western Bay of Plenty.
The Acorn Foundation amended its 2024 funding priorities to reflect the community needs that were highlighted in the 2023 Vital Impact Research. Community needs also led Acorn to donate to charities that support food security through Acorn’s Vital Impact Fund.
Will-fully Supporting Women’s Welfare A colourful life of unexpected twists and some dark turns has led Mt Maunganui local, Noeline Campbell, to support the charities she herself was so close to needing. Every March, Noeline contemplates the charities she’d like to give to and says she gets a real kick out of receiving thank you notes from the charities she’s funded. Annual giving has become a way for Noeline to assist those less fortunate than herself. When she was in need people stepped forward to help her, and now she honours those people with her own helping hands. Noeline has also made provision to leave a bequest to the Acorn Foundation. She would like to continue supporting the charities she loves, long after she’s gone. Giving back has a poignant meaning for Noeline.
She lived in the UK and painfully recalls the afternoon she had to leave her abusive ex-husband and take their baby daughter with her. “I left while he was at work. I was in such a panic that I left my wallet behind and found out when I stopped for petrol in the evening, one hundred miles away. A couple walking down the street asked me if anything was wrong and I burst into tears. They were wardens of an old people’s home and gave us the guest room for the night. They gave me a phone call to my old school friend from Katikati, who lived another hundred miles away, and she offered me a room at her place. In the morning my saviours put petrol in my car and gave me twenty pounds. “Through that experience, I became highly aware of the value of not only compassion, but also of Women’s
Noeline Campbell Refuge, although I didn’t end up needing it.”
Noeline recently attended Tauranga’s Live for More’s graduation (one of the “Ever since, in whatever country I have charities she supports), she found it gratifying and heartwarming to see the lived – UK, Bahrain, New Zealand – I have supported Women’s Refuge. I have results of her giving. now started supporting other organisations that can help women and “It makes me feel happy.” families before their situations require Noeline’s giving has created an invested the involvement of Women's Refuge.” community interest. She encourages “I am interested in supporting charities those who haven’t updated their wills to consider leaving gifts to support the that try to break the cycle of violence and the cycle of poverty for women. The areas they care most about. Acorn team provided me with some “If you set up an endowment fund with great recommendations of charities to Acorn, it will be there after you have support.” died. Income will be generated to fund “I don’t just support local causes,” says those charities you supported when you were alive. You get to experience the joy Noeline. “I’m really interested in the of giving during your lifetime, and you work of Hamlin Fistula in Ethiopia, as well. So I've started a living giving fund know that it will continue to have an increasing effect long after you have with Hamlin Fistula, but I've still got a gone. Isn’t that wonderful?” percentage of my estate gifted to Acorn.” Noeline’s heartfelt smile says it all.
Daily vaping rates in NZ teens almost double year on year The use of e-cigarettes has become common in recent years, especially among New Zealand teenagers. The rate of teen vaping has rapidly increased to the point where some refer to it as a public health crisis and an epidemic. Originally intended as an alternative to smoking, vaping companies are actively targeting youth with enticing marketing tactics. One in 10 young people aged 14 to 15 vape daily, with that number rising to 1 in 5 among the Māori population, according to data from the New Zealand Health Survey released in December 2023. Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says doubling of daily vaping among teenagers is nothing short of a public health crisis that demands urgent attention. “I am appalled and deeply concerned with these figures.
“What we are witnessing is an epidemic that needs immediate attention to address such alarming statistics.” The proliferation of vape stores, particularly in lower socio-economic and disadvantaged areas, contributes to the accessibility and popularity of vaping. There are currently more than 1,500 Specialist Vaping Retailers across Aotearoa. In comparison, there are only 1,200 petrol stations in the entire country.
The Acorn Foundation will be funding Te Hā Ora’s ability to offer 24 workshops to schools around the Bay of Plenty region. This initiative will offer thousands of young people the tools they need to break habits or avoid creating them. Nicotine addiction can have immense consequences on both health and financial capability.
The addictive nature of nicotinecontaining vapes, coupled with enticing marketing, flavours, and packaging, poses a significant challenge for schools as students become addicted to these products. In May 2022, Te Hā Ora Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ launched a programme to deliver vaping education workshops to schools across the country - the first of its kind.
The programme arms young people with information and tools to make informed choices about vaping, including understanding the harms.
We know that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on the planet. The best way to deal with addiction is to prevent people from falling into it as early as possible, which makes this intervention critical for the long-term health of our region – both physical and financial.
was thrilled to learn the Foundation was chosen to receive funding this year. “This funding will make a significant impact on the lives of young people in the Western Bay of Plenty, and we are excited to share the positive outcomes that your support will enable.” Acorn was pleased to be able to invest in the health of the Bay of Plenty’s rangatahi. Acorn Foundation’s Legacy Giving Manager Campbell Higgins said, “It is a relief to know that vaping education is available for our local school students, thanks to Te Hā Ora. The late Roy & Mary McGowan would have been thrilled that their fund will support this programme.”
Te Hā Ora Asthma & Respiratory Foundation NZ Grants and Fundraising Executive Ms Pam Francombe says she
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Michael & Ann Jones